Managing Stress - Part 1
Acute vs. Chronic Stress
I want you to picture a few deer in a field, enjoying a nice meal of grass. They’re quite lovely, so you go closer to get a better look. Suddenly, they spot you and they quickly bound away to safety.
If you were to find them later, you’d see them once again calmly munching on grass. They wouldn’t be on edge, worried about the next predator. While they’re keeping their senses open to be safe, they’re perfectly calm and relaxed.
Deer visit me at my house regularly and they inspire me with their presence and calmness. They’ve even made friends with one of my cats, and they let her watch them closely as they eat (little do they know that her favourite food is venison :).
But as humans, our big brains get in the way and we struggle to be as present and calm as those lovely deer. If we had just been frightened by a predator, we’d be on edge, looking over our shoulder constantly.
This is the difference between acute stress and chronic stress.
Acute stress happened the moment the deer became aware of a danger and ran away. This stress moves through their bodies quickly and kept them safe. Every animal, including us humans, are built for regular acute stress.
Acute stress is actually important for our health! Acute stress can make our mind sharper, helps our immune system function properly, and helps build confidence and resilience. Without acute stress, we can even become depressed.
Even our house pets can suffer from a lack of acute stress. If my cats are too bored, they’ll pretend that they’re being hunted and go from a relaxed state to running hell-bent throughout my house. They intuitively know how important this reaction is, so they shake themselves out of their boring day with a pretend chase.
As humans, our problem is that we have trouble letting go of our stressful experiences. Frankly, our stresses tend to be much more complicated than my cat’s stress. Instead of a sudden predator, our stresses aren’t usually physical. They’re mostly emotional stresses and worries, so our body never gets a chance to run away. And so our stress hormones are flowing for most of our day instead of in quick moments.
This is chronic stress, the stress we can’t get away from.
Constant worries and fear that something bad might happen will trigger a quieter but similar response as a predator. But, instead of being beneficial, chronic stress is draining. Your body is spending all day trying to keep you alive because of the perceived danger. This uses up extra nutrients and doesn’t allow any space for recovery.
In this masterclass, we’re going to be dealing with the effects of chronic stress. But, keep in mind that all stress isn’t bad for your body. It’s important to remember that moments of acute stress are healing. In real-life, this might look like something that pushes you out of your comfort zone. It could be doing a presentation in front of an audience or doing a hike that’s harder than any you’ve experienced.
You don’t need to remove all stress from your life to be balanced and healthy. Instead, we need to learn to release those stressful experiences. We need to be like the deer :)
Symptoms of Chronic Stress
Sometimes feeling stressed out is so normal that you might not even notice it. In our world right now, calmness is rare and can feel foreign. I’ve worked with many people who have physical symptoms of chronic stress, but they don’t feel it consciously. Truthfully…I fell into this category before I incorporated meditation into my life. Being stressed out was all I knew!
The physical signs of chronic stress are signs that your body is prepared to flee. They are:
- high blood pressure: so your muscles get the nutrients needed to run
- high blood sugar: so your muscles have enough energy to run
- high cholesterol: so your blood will clot quickly in case you’re injured as you flee
These are also the most commonly diagnosed chronic conditions, and rarely will your doctor mention the stress connection. If you’re dealing with any of these symptoms, you’re in the right place <3
If you have any questions, jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)